FFXIV OC Fanfiction 10: Retaliation
by blacklegheat
Summary: After months of training and preparation the exiled company members have finally tracked down the leader of the uprising, but will they manage to achieve the revenge they crave?


The mood was stirring as a large group of all shapes and sizes chatted among themselves in one of the barracks of the Maelstrom's headquarters. The commotion soon came to a halt as a silver-haired Hyur entered the room followed by a dark-skinned Highlander with shades.

"Commander!" Many of the room's occupants exclaimed at once while giving a prompt salute.

"At ease." Leo ordered as everyone in the room quickly relaxed again. Those who had greeted the man were all dressed in Maelstrom uniforms and were under Leo's command. The others however were his fellow Free Company members who escaped with him during the insurgence at the company building and were now planning their retaliation on the culprit who started it all. It has been several months since that fateful day that divided the company in two and left many of the members separated from each other. Although as Leo scanned the room he noticed a face that he didn't recognize.

"Who is she?" He asked the tall, blonde Elezen man standing beside the stranger.

"An associate of mine. She'll help join our battle." Malik explained bluntly.

"The associate has a name." The woman spoke up. She was a lean, tanned Elezen with bright teal eyes and dark-brown hair tied back into a pony-tail.

"The name is Milla, I am a member of Oschon's Palette, along with Malik." She introduced.

"Oschon's Palette?" Leo questioned with a raised brow.

"It's a small group of select Bards that travel the globe, offering our services to those who need it most. Whether recreational or combat oriented. Not many know of the group's existence as we try to keep a low profile, we've even given up our birth names for aliases." Malik explained.

"That's right, we're Black and White. There's a whole rainbow of members out their in the world but for now we're all you need to know about." Milla finished.

"I see. Well if you trust her, then I'll have faith in your companion, Malik." Leo assured him before turning to the group in general once more. "If I may have everyone's attention, with the help of Grand Marshal Hunt's men we have finally managed to locate the fugitive Alvin Ballard. You have all been training rigorously and shown outstanding promise and determination these past few months and I am certain that you all are ready for the coming battle. The felon has established a camp with various wanted criminals in the wilderness of La Noscea, far from any settlements. Grand Marshal Hunt will demonstrate the battle plan and then we'll be leaving for the operation at noon." Leo instructed.

"I notice a few empty spaces here, what're Paris and your lass doing?" A scruffy tanned Hyur questioned.

"Rildein has given them their own tasks, they won't be joining us today." Leo answered.

"What in blazes do you mean they won't be joining us? We still have no communication back home, our aetheryte access there has been cut off, and now our numbers are limited even further?!" The man burst out as he riled up.

"Alex, calm down. We're still more than capable of accomplishing our task without them." Leo reassured the man who was now scowling before he turned his attention to the Highlander as he began to brief the group on their battle strategy.

 **{●}**

"Do... Do you think they'll be o-okay?" A petite Au Ra girl asked the short dark-skinned Roegadyn woman who was sitting by the fireplace near her. The Roegadyn wore a nice, long coat with a shirt and tie underneath, long thigh-high boots with buckles strapped around them and a small rounded hat on her head.

"They'll be fine Juria. Your husband and brother-in-law are some of the strongest people I've seen and they have Rildein and Malik alongside them as well. They have their orders and we have ours, I'm certain they can handle this without us." Paris reassured her.

"Okay..." Juria replied with a nod. "You know, you've seemed different ever since we got to this mansion. I mean you're not wearing your tattered robes anymore and you don't have that scary look on your face all the time. I-Is something the matter?" Juria asked, trying to take her mind off what was bothering her.

"I'm not sure I want to talk about it." Paris answered bluntly.

"B-but something is bothering you, r-right? Is it something to do with your father?" Juria asked with concern in her voice. Paris glared at her for a moment, then quickly relaxed her expression and sighed.

"I guess... There's no harm in un-bottling my thoughts right now, it's a good a time as any. After my father left my mother when I was a child he took me away to live with him here. Mummy- uh, m-m-my mother... Was always nurturing and kind to me, but my father was always occupied with his work and studies. He constantly conducted strange and dangerous experiments, doing whatever he could to uncover the secrets of various schools of magic. He always urged me to follow in his footsteps and so I spent a lot of time alone as a child buried in his books. I used to get picked on a lot because of this when I was younger but then my father told me something. He said the only way to make them stop is to show that I was stronger than them, that I was someone to be feared. And so ever since then I've always done exactly that. I've made myself look fierce, I've made myself appear to be a monster to most people." She explained.

"But even on your own in the company, you were always still like that, why the s-sudden change?" Juria questioned.

"I'm not sure. I guess... This is the first time I've been back here since my father passed away. It feels strange. Like I was living the way he instructed me, but coming back to this empty home without him gives me this odd feeling inside. It's like I don't have to live the way he wanted me to anymore, I'm free to just be myself." Paris answered.

"Well, I think this you is nice. You don't have to live the way someone else tells you to and you shouldn't push others away because of it. I think that i-if you start to act how you really want to and live the way you want then you m-might be happier from it." Juria looked down with a smile, slightly embarrassed by what she said. Paris gave her a sincere smile and nodded.

"Maybe you're right, thank you. I'm going downstairs, there's a few tomes here that I wanted to refresh my knowledge on. If you want company I think the others are outside in the garden." Paris explained as she excused herself.

"O-okay, good luck." Juria nodded as the two went their separate ways.

 **{●}**

The sun rose high in the sky as the large military force trekked it's way through the plains of La Noscea. Even after teleporting to the nearest aetheryte and venturing from there, it had still taken many hours for the group to finally reach the jungles where their target waited. Once the group was close enough, they paused to rest and prepare for the coming battle. Once everyone was ready, the group waited for the archers and rogues to get into position around the camp. Leo stood next to Alex surveying the area from their vantage point on a hill overlooking the camp.

"These thugs are all armed, although I don't see Alvin anywhere." Leo reported to him. Alex scanned the area intently until he spotted a blue-haired Miqo'te exiting one of the large tents that were set up.

"Found him. This one's for Robyn you son of a whore..." Alex growled softly as he pulled out a pistol and aimed it towards the Miqo'te's head.

"Alex wait, we can't engage until we gi-" Leo's voice was cut off by a sudden loud bang ringing next to him as Alex fired a shot towards his target. It was a miss however as Alvin looked up into the distance and slid his body around at the nick of time as the bullet shot into the ground.

"You're aim needs a little more work." He mocked with a grin, looking up at the hill as he readjusted his glasses.

"Gods damn it, Alex!" Leo growled as confused and angry shouts began to stir within the camp.

"Everyone commence with the attack!" Leo ordered over the linkshell before turning to Alex who jumped and began sliding down the hill.

"Stop, don't just rush in!" He yelled before following him. As Alex reached ground level, he pulled several small knives from his belt and threw them towards Alvin as he rushed forward. The Miqo'te formed a glowing sword in his hand and deflected the projectiles with one swing and quickly brought the blade back and shielded his chest with it from the twin daggers that clashed with his blade as Alex lunged his weapons forwards. Alex sliced away at the Miqo'te frantically with hatred in his eyes while Alvin blocked each blow.

"This all seems too familiar, didn't you learn from last time? You can't beat me so quit wasting my time." Alvin scoffed as he continued to fend his attacker off. As Leo reached the bottom of the hill, he looked around to find yet another war zone. The bandits and his forces were set in a giant conflict, although he had no time to aid in the fight, his sole target was Alvin. Leo caught up to his brother and saw him locked in a fierce battle with Alex attacking viciously with rage. Although it was hard to tell he could have sworn he saw Alvin falter for a moment when blocking one of the attacks before regaining his composure.

"I guess I was wrong, you have learned a few things since last time, but I-"

"Oh will you shut the hell up you little shit?!" Alex interrupted the Miqo'te with a roar as he slashed forward and swung around for another attack.

"It's rude to interrupt you know, and here I was giving you a compliment. Oh well, playtime's over." Alvin said and he swung his sword and parried the attack, knocking Alex back slightly before he rushed forward and around the Hyur.

"Goodnight!" He chuckled as he struck the man in the back of the head with the hilt of his weapon, immediately rendering Alex unconscious as he fell to the ground.

"Alex!" Leo shouted in shock as he began to dash forward.

"Oh relax he's fine, he's just taking a nap is all. I guess he's just tuckered out from all the fancy moves he was pulling." Alvin chuckled as Leo came to a stop only a few feet away.

"Silence traitor, you will pay for betraying us and murdering my friends!"

"Is that so..." Alvin replied.

"Any last words?" Leo asked as he drew his lance and pointed it towards his foe.

"Indeed I do." Alvin answered with a smile as Leo waited in a moment of silence for him to continue.

"...Seeya!" Alvin chuckled as he turned around and sprinted off into the distance.

"Wait what? You coward, get back here and fight!" Leo roared as he dashed off towards him. Alvin hastily made his way through the thick jungle with his pursuer close behind until after a while it opened up to a small clearing. Leo pushed past vines flowing from a set of large trees in front of him and looked up in disbelief as he entered the clearing. Alvin sat several feet above the ground in an airborne vehicle as he clearly waited for Leo to catch up.

"What in the... Is that an airship?" Leo gasped.

"Indeed it is, Mr. Blake. A personal single-carrier airship straight from the Garlond Ironworks. They sure do make great quality products." Alvin explained as he leaned back comfortably in his seat.

"What is the meaning of this? You're always more than confident of your combat abilities, why are you fleeing?" Leo shouted in a confused panic.

"It's simple, I just don't have anymore time to play around with you folks. I have new business to attend to in the Far East. Now where was I headed... Dalmasca? Or maybe Hingashi... Wait no they wanted me in Doma, that's right." Alvin replied as he sat upright in his seat again and manned the controls.

"But I suppose if you're feeling lonely you can always come visit me!" He shouted as the airship began to turn and take off into the distance. Leo stood there silently, still trying to process what had happened.

"Damn it!" He yelled as he lunged his lance into the ground in frustration. Back at the camp, the battle had calmed down with the Maelstrom Squadron as the victors, rounding up the chained captors and gathering the corpses of those who weren't so lucky. Malik and Milla helped Alex to recover consciousness before reporting to Rildein who was giving the squadron orders in their commander's absence. Leo eventually made his way back to camp and noticed that Paris and Juria had recently arrived on the scene as he rejoined with the others.

"Ju! What are you two doing here?" Leo asked the pair.

"We completed the orders we were given and so we came here to help with the battle, although it seems we weren't needed." Paris explained.

"Right, well you should help with the return home, I have something important I need to do." Leo replied before walking up to Juria and holding her hands gently.

"Juria, I'm sorry to do this to you, but I have to leave for a while." Leo said grimly as he looked his wife in the eyes.

"W-what but why? Where?" She asked confused by the sudden news.

"I wasn't able to take down Alvin... He got away." Leo answered shamefully.

"What?! What in the Seven Hells do you mean he got away? How could you let that happen?!" Alex roared angrily, his emotions overtaking him for a moment and he gripped his younger brother by the shoulders.

"He escaped in an airship, there was nothing I could do. He's fleeing to the Far East and so I'm going to track him down and finish this once and for all." Leo explained.

"B-but it sounds so dangerous, I-I don't want you to go!" Juria cried and Leo turned towards her again.

"It'll be okay. I'll communicate to you through our Linkpearls every chance I get. I will return, there's no need to worry." He reassured her as her pulled her in and held her tightly.

"I love you, stay safe, okay?" He asked.

"I should be saying that to you. Please come back soon..." Juria pleaded as Leo let go and turned to the others.

"I'll take care of things here, you get going." Rildein ordered. Leo gave a nod and then one last glance at Juria before he turned and disappeared into the jungle.

"In that case, you three should accompany us to The Goblet, we have something to show you." Paris explained.

"What's this all about?" Alex asked.

"You'll see when we get there." She replied as the group soon departed. It was nightfall by the time the group had reached the manor as they were greeted by the two servants who had been waiting at the front door for their arrival.

"Mr. Hawke, please, you first." The butler said with a bow before opening the doors. Alex was skeptical for a moment but then continued to enter the building he looked around for a moment until something caught his eye which almost instantly began to well up as his heart jumped.

"R-r..." He failed to say anything, only stuttering slightly until he was interrupted as a tall figure jumped forward and wrapped it's arms around him.

"Alex!" A girl cried in glee as she squeezed tighter. The man stood there stunned for a moment before he returned the hug and held her tightly.

"Robyn, is this really you?" He managed to let out in a light voice as tears began running down his face and onto the woman's shoulder.

"It sure is, I'm so, so sorry for everything you must have gone through." She apologized to him. Alex lifted his head and leaned back a bit to look upon his adopted daughter again.

"But... How? I saw you die?" He asked, his mind clouded in confusion.

"I believe I can answer that" A voice came from the side as an Au Ra woman entered from the staircase below.

"Rose, you're alive too? What the hell is going on?" Alex asked, becoming flustered in his lack of knowledge.

"Please sit down with everyone and I'll explain everything." Rose answered. Everyone was soon seated on the couches and chairs that circled the fireplace in the main living area as the servants poured hot beverages for the battle-worn guests while Rose began to recount the events that had unfolded since the insurgence at the company building.

"When I attacked Alvin he used some sort of lightning magic to paralyze me, I could hardly move or speak at all. It hurt like hell though, I'm certainly going to kick his ass for that when I see him next." Robyn explained as she pounded a fist against her palm.

"I was lurking behind the scenes performing my own duties. As soon as he did that I used my magic to cast an illusion, making it appear as though there was a grave wound by her stomach. afterwards I projected a mirror copy of myself to confuse and distract some of Paris' attackers by making it seem like I sacrificed myself. Finally, I created two mirror copies of the rebel members to quote-unquote hold Juria hostage." Rose finished.

"T-they seemed so real though, it was really scary..." Juria mentioned.

"Wait so what you're saying is that this was all some sort of staged conflict, and that all of you were in on all this?" Alex asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"No, I was the only one who knew at first." Rose answered.

"Robyn, Juria and I had no idea what was going on until Rildein came and ordered me to hide the girls away here after we fled to Limsa Lominsa." Paris added.

"I had no idea either. I don't even know why I'm here." Milla commented as the group suddenly all looked at her.

"You're here because you're going to join the Free Company." Malik told her.

"Oh, am I? Okay." Milla replied lightly.

"...So what was this all for, anyway?" Alex asked.

"I think it's best we let Mr. Nassau explain. You all should rest here for the night and then we'll return to the company building tomorrow, I've already alerted Robin to return our access to the Aetheryte." Rose explained before the group changed to making light conversation.  
Meanwhile Alvin was humming to himself gleefully as he steadily made his way to his destination, the moon's bright light sparkling on the ocean surface below him.

"How wonderful, everything is going just as I planned. Now all I have to do is set Leo on the right path once he arrives, drop a few rumors here and there then I can return to the company for a while. I sure will miss him while he's gone though, he's such a fun friend to have around." Alvin smiled to himself as he began to recall his big plan in his mind.

"Mr. Nassau, you requested to see me?" Alvin asked as he entered the leader's chambers.

"Alvin, yes, please have a seat. I needed to ask if you've seen any suspicious activity among our ranks recently." Gaius inquired.

"Suspicious? You mean you think someone in here might be brewing up some trouble?"

"Possibly. It seems to me as though some of the lower ranked members aren't fond of my leadership, although I am unable to figure out how to go about this discretely."

"Hmm... I think I may have come up with a truly wonderful idea! I want to cause a rebellion."

"You're insane. How would that in any way be beneficial?"

"Juuust let me explain, Mr. Nassau. I can start spreading rumors and influence any possible mutinous members into joining my 'secret rebellion'. That way if there actually are any members worthy of your suspicion then I'll have them all rounded up for you."

"So then if you were to have all of them gathered why would you need to initiate the rebellion? It'd be far simpler to remove them from the company before it got to that stage."

"I've been brainstorming my own masterpiece training strategy for a while now and I think that this would be the perfect opening act. There are certain members who I want to push to their limits, specifically the Hawke brothers."

"And how do you expect to do that?"

"Well first, I'll need the aid of your pupil, Ms. Belle. I feel like her magic could come in handy for this task. I'll need her to perform some illusions, which also means that she'll need to know of the plan."

"It would be risky having a third person know of this if I go through with your idea, although I trust Rose greatly so it should be manageable. Continue."

"I'll make it seem as though I put those ladies the brothers care about most at risk, maybe even fake their deaths. After that, we'll need some way to separate the members and keep them away from the building."

"Hmm... One of my associates, Rildein has deep history with Leo, surely he'd trust him. He's also a Grand Marshal within the Maelstrom now, perhaps I could get him to co-operate with us if I find some way to make it benefit him."

"Great! Make sure he rounds up Paris too, she might be useful for this."

"Why? What need do you have of her? I don't want her to be involved in this any more than she needs to be."

"Relax, she's more of a resource than anything else. Once that group is separated I'll get Rildein to make her hide the lady or ladies who I supposedly "killed" along with Rose at her family's estate."

"Her family has an estate? How are you even aware of this?"

"Oh come now Mr. Nassau, you should know how resourceful I am by now."

"Very true... I suppose since Rose will be aware of the plan she'll need to explain it to the girls. But what is this all leading up to?"

"Revenge. I'll use revenge to drive them towards getting stronger. I believe Alex would especially benefit from this knowing that hothead. If I do anything to his precious Robyn he'll surely want my head, and Leo surely would react if something were to ever happen to your cousin. Believe it or not I've had my introductions with Mr. Hunt long ago. It is how you heard of me after all. I'll gather a bunch of thugs, bandits and ne'er-do-wells and keep in contact with him. Once I believe the group is ready to advance to the next stage I'll let Mr. Hunt know end then that'll initiate Act Two."

"It's very crude but I suppose this might be somewhat effective."

"It doesn't end there though, after all I can't have them killing me and getting their revenge, or just tell them it was a big misunderstanding now, can I?"

"Then what do you intend to do?"

"I want them to leave the continent."

"Are you mad, I can't just have half of my most competent members travel across the world!"

"Relax it'll only be the brothers. I plan to flee before they try to finish me off and lead them to the Far East. Once there they'll feel the need to seek me out and thus they'll seek aid of the local populace. There's much to be learned when travelling to foreign places, especially in the art of war. After all, we wouldn't have shinobi were it not for the Doman refugees' arrival in Eorzea. I don't just want them to become stronger, I want them to become well versed in various arts of combat."

"So you intend for Leo and Alex to train in the Far East? I suppose this could have its uses... But you still haven't exactly solved this rebel problem this was initially about."

"Simple, Rildein can order around the Maelstrom right? Just get him to detain the rebels then they'll be his problem, not yours."

"...Very well. As long as you can promise me that not one of my trusted members, especially Juria will come to harm in this insane plan of yours I will agree."

"You have nothing to worry about, I won't let anything happen to my friends."

"In that case I'll contact Rildein first and let him know of our plan and whats needed of him and try to convince him to help. If he agrees I'll give you permission to commence your plan. Once you're ready I'll have Malik contact Rildein at the first sight of trouble and then get him to 'rescue' those you want involved. Hmm I shall also need to let Robin know of some of this as well so she can block linkpearl communication and Aetheryte access for them for a while. The rest I will leave up to you. I hope you know what you're doing..."

"Don't worry Mr. Nassau, I won't let you down. This'll be so much fun!"

"I better not regret this..."


End file.
